Doctor Who: The Robots of Death (1977)

By CinemaSerf

The Christmas pantomime was always a firm favourite when I was growing up and it was usual to see accomplished Scots comedian Russell Hunter hamming it up as widow someone or other. He had more to do back then than here, though, as his "Uvanov" character captains a mining vessel churning through the dirt on an asteroid looking for a very valuable mineral. The "Doctor" (Tom Baker) and his companion "Leela" (Louise Jameson) arrive just as his crew start to drop like flies. Naturally, the travellers are the prime suspects but as the body count continues to mount, the Captain, his deputy "Toos" (Pamela Salem) and "Poul" (David Collings) begin to think it's the unthinkable. The humanoid robots who make up most of the crew are on the warpath. The company had the foresight to put a friendly robot "D84" on the ship so it falls to the Time Lord, "Leela" and their new metallic friend to find out just who is overwriting their plumbing and thwart the attempts to destroy the crew and take over the ship. This was always one of my favourite "Dr. Who" adventures with plenty of action, some glowing eyes and even a bit of helium thrown in for added squeak. I will admit that I'm still not quite sure why the ship was a target - stuck, as it was, on a world with no light or water - but I don't suppose that matters in the mind of a megalomaniac.